UN Special Envoy to the Middle East: 'I leave the Gaza Strip in an even worse situation than before'

Rulers vow to lift emergency laws

Egypt will lift its reviled emergency laws, which since 1981 have granted police sweeping powers, ahead of September polls, military rulers said Monday. They also confirmed that deposed leader Hosni Mubarak and his family remain under house arrest.

AP- Egypt’s military rulers say the country’s notorious emergency laws will be lifted ahead of parliament elections that are to be held in September.

The laws have been in place since 1981. They gave police near-unlimited powers of arrest and allowed indefinite detentions without charges.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces also said on Monday that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family are under house arrest. The statement apparently aimed to defuse rumors that Mubarak had left to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.

Earlier in March, millions of Egyptians voted in favor of amending key constitutional articles that pave the way for free and fair general elections and enable independents to contest in presidential vote.